A Place for Everything
You know what your grandmother always said.
'There's a place for everything and everything in it's place.'
She always also said, "Don't put it down, put it away."
Stuffstream is about, not the stuff, but the places where stuff can go, or might go. There are no rules about where it SHOULD go. No SHOULDS.
It is not necessarily a de-cluttering blog, or get organized blog. It will not guilt you into thinking that something is wrong with you if you have piles of stuff around, or suggest that if you get rid of everything and start over with an empty room, you will conquer the collecting and hoarding. Or you should roll your T-shirts up in your drawer, or shove everything into a closet so you can have a clean desk with only a sheet of paper and an orchid on it. It's not about feng shui or the best Ikea organizing system.
This is real. We are who we are. We have the stuff we have. Though we might want to find that receipt or that certain hair tie, and I wish I knew where the hell I put it. I can't find that hairband as a matter of fact. The little hairs are tickling my face. It's driving me crazy. But I don't want to declutter the whole bathroom. But I wish I could find my hairband.
So. First tip. Come to love piles. (No, not those). The piles on your desk, or on the step to the basement that your husband trips on. Piles on your dresser of catalogs with pages turned down marking more stuff to buy.
But be discerning with your piles. I have a pile on the table next to the stove where I keep olive oil and seasonings. Hey, it's a big table. The pile takes up only the size of a sheet of paper, 8X11, but a lot fits on there. Current bills that need to be paid. Bills that I have paid, sitting there waiting for me to take it out to the mailbox. Lists of things I need to get done RIGHT NOW! The pile stays there. I pass it dozens of times each day. The pile is alive and moving. I get the things done on the pile.
It is a short pile. If it gets too tall, 2 inches or so, I know something is wrong. I'm not paying attention to it. So I leaf through it, and file a couple of things. Oh, right, I forgot about that.
As for the pile of catalogs on my dresser. They are a wish list. Wishes make me happy, just looking at them now and again. If after a few weeks, I don't buy the bra--because it's $60 after all, but I still like looking at it, I "file" that catalog in a pretty tapestry bag next to my dresser. Every few months, I go through the pretty bag, and find catalogs that, well, it's obvious I'll never buy that, and I recycle it in our paper bin. I also find news articles I'll never read again, or return labels for something I love, and certainly won't return. These things are recycled, too.
You can see the thinking here. The pile. The tapestry bag. They give you time to think, and dream, and wish. You can take your time and get rid of it when you're ready.
But don't put your Jury Summons on the pile of catalogs!
So. Everything has a Stuffstream. Everything in its place, for as long as you want.
'There's a place for everything and everything in it's place.'
She always also said, "Don't put it down, put it away."
Stuffstream is about, not the stuff, but the places where stuff can go, or might go. There are no rules about where it SHOULD go. No SHOULDS.
It is not necessarily a de-cluttering blog, or get organized blog. It will not guilt you into thinking that something is wrong with you if you have piles of stuff around, or suggest that if you get rid of everything and start over with an empty room, you will conquer the collecting and hoarding. Or you should roll your T-shirts up in your drawer, or shove everything into a closet so you can have a clean desk with only a sheet of paper and an orchid on it. It's not about feng shui or the best Ikea organizing system.
This is real. We are who we are. We have the stuff we have. Though we might want to find that receipt or that certain hair tie, and I wish I knew where the hell I put it. I can't find that hairband as a matter of fact. The little hairs are tickling my face. It's driving me crazy. But I don't want to declutter the whole bathroom. But I wish I could find my hairband.
So. First tip. Come to love piles. (No, not those). The piles on your desk, or on the step to the basement that your husband trips on. Piles on your dresser of catalogs with pages turned down marking more stuff to buy.
But be discerning with your piles. I have a pile on the table next to the stove where I keep olive oil and seasonings. Hey, it's a big table. The pile takes up only the size of a sheet of paper, 8X11, but a lot fits on there. Current bills that need to be paid. Bills that I have paid, sitting there waiting for me to take it out to the mailbox. Lists of things I need to get done RIGHT NOW! The pile stays there. I pass it dozens of times each day. The pile is alive and moving. I get the things done on the pile.
It is a short pile. If it gets too tall, 2 inches or so, I know something is wrong. I'm not paying attention to it. So I leaf through it, and file a couple of things. Oh, right, I forgot about that.
As for the pile of catalogs on my dresser. They are a wish list. Wishes make me happy, just looking at them now and again. If after a few weeks, I don't buy the bra--because it's $60 after all, but I still like looking at it, I "file" that catalog in a pretty tapestry bag next to my dresser. Every few months, I go through the pretty bag, and find catalogs that, well, it's obvious I'll never buy that, and I recycle it in our paper bin. I also find news articles I'll never read again, or return labels for something I love, and certainly won't return. These things are recycled, too.
You can see the thinking here. The pile. The tapestry bag. They give you time to think, and dream, and wish. You can take your time and get rid of it when you're ready.
But don't put your Jury Summons on the pile of catalogs!
So. Everything has a Stuffstream. Everything in its place, for as long as you want.
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